The Oswego State men’s hockey team comes off their Christmas Break looking to continue its success from the first part of the 2021-22 season.

Three weeks ago, the Lakers squeezed out a win in Rochester against Nazareth College with a 6-5 overtime win at the Bill Gray’s Regional Iceplex. The Golden Flyers made a third period comeback tallying three goals to send the game into extra time. Ryan Dickinson was able to secure the game-winning goal off a redirect from sophomore forward Alex DiCarlo to put Oswego State ahead. 

Oswego State now finds themselves on a five-game win streak heading into the Clarion/Best Western Oswego Hockey Classic taking place Jan. 1-2 in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. Those five wins include the weekend sweep at Williams College in Massachusetts, a win over SUNY Canton, a SUNYAC victory against Morrisville State, and the win against Nazareth College on Hockey Fights Cancer Night. These wins come after the 6-1 loss to Geneseo in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena back on Nov. 20. Since that setback, the Lakers have outscored opponents 25 to nine en route to those five victories. Junior captain Travis Broughman talked about the change in play.

“The confidence level within individual players,” Broughman said. “A lot of new guys were in the first week and so we were still trying to find ourselves as a team and looking for chemistry between lines. Everyone has now found their own and finding that chemistry and going out there and just playing hockey. We have started getting those goals that we need.”

Oswego State started 0-2 after dropping games to Hobart College and Elmira College the opening weekend. Since then, the Lakers are 8-1-1 and head coach Ed Gosek knows the group has been improving since that point.

“Since those two games, we are 8-1-1,” Gosek said. “If you look at it, we have been getting better each and every game and we are pleased with the progress. We are going in the right direction and there are going to be ups and downs along the way.”

Gosek secured his 350th win after the Oswego State victory against Nazareth College. In his nineteenth season with the Lakers, the coach has been able to lead his team of younger guys with the help of some veteran players. Oswego State welcomed twenty new players onto the roster this season.

But, the presence of Broughman and DiCarlo has been shown night in and night out on the scoresheet as the two are back to leading the team in points once again this season. The two returners have done a solid job in leading the younger offense through the season so far. Off the stat-sheet, the two along with others are also doing the little things in the eyes of the head coach.

“The two of them have stepped it up in practice and games and have led by example,” Gosek said. “It is a positive that we have those two guys doing the little things, blocking shots, finishing checks, and being hard on the backcheck. All the little things that add up that has helped turn things around.”

Broughman has continued where he left off after his sophomore campaign back in the 2019-20 season. The junior has thirteen points through twelve games played which includes four goals and nine assists, a team high. The forward was able to string together a four-game point streak at the start of the Williams College doubleheader that included a five-point night at SUNY Canton. Broughman spoke highly about his former linemate.

“He is finding the back of the net now and that is what we have been hoping for with him and myself,” Broughman said. “He has been doing well with all parts of his game and it is now all coming together.”

Alex DiCarlo has found his stride after a slower start to the season. Initially, the returner was getting a goal or assist every other game but has recently found a point streak of his own that now spans three games. This season, the Laker has four games with multiple points and leads the team in goals with eight tallies on the 2021-22 season. Four of those goals came on the man advantage. 

Some of the newer players have also found success in the middle part of the season. Tyler Flack and Connor Sleeth are both players that come to mind after starting to break out in the points column the past five or six games. Sleeth currently has three goals and six assists good for nine points in his rookie campaign while the Streetsville, Ontario, Canada native Flack put up seven assists and two goals. Broughman praised the two players’ increase in performance.

“Finally getting their confidence up to play to the standard they both play at and be free out on the ice,” Broughman said. “It is starting to show, and they are starting to let loose a bit.”

One player that is not on the score sheet as often but acts as the motor for this men’s hockey team is alternate captain Josh LeBlanc. The energizer bunny has continued to do wonders on the forecheck and lead the penalty kill unit to where it is today. The junior has one goal and one assist so far in the 2021-22 season but as Gosek noted, Leblanc’s game does not revolve around the scoresheet.

“He is a quiet leader,” Gosek said. “but he does everything you can ask for on and off the ice. He has finally found his groove and knows what he needs to do to be successful. He is not the powerplay type of guy but he kills penalties and is that energy player that creates turnovers and is hard to play against on defense.”

On the other end of the ice sheet, Oswego State goaltender Steven Kozikoski returns for another season with the Lakers and is back to his sophomore season form. Currently, the central New York native posts a 1.90 goals against average with a .931 save percentage. Kozikoski has played ten out of the twelve games in between the pipes for the Lakers. The netminder is ranked third in the SUNYAC based on his goals against average.

In the SUNYAC, the Lakers finished the first part of the season in fifth with a conference record of 4-1-1. With thirteen points and six games played, Oswego State plays chase to Geneseo who has not lost yet this season to a SUNYAC team and hold first place with 22 points. One positive, all the teams in front of the Lakers have finished eight games giving Oswego State the chance to move to second with two more wins in the SUNYAC. The team will get back to conference play during the middle of January.

The players have now returned to campus after spending Christmas and the holiday season away from the team. The focus now shifts towards Augsburg University, a program that has stringed together constant success over the course of multiple seasons in Minnesota. Since the 2015-16 season, the Auggies have won four Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships and have made it to the NCAA Division III National Tournament four times, three of those trips being all the way to the quarter finals round. Last season, the conference did not hold a postseason championship and the Augsburg University Auggies were able to complete five games in their shortened season finishing with an overall record of 4-1.

This year, the Auggies hold a 9-1 record so far in the 2021-22 season. The team will play the United States Development team and Adrian College, ranked number one in the latest USCHO poll, prior to heading to Oswego to compete in the tournament. Augsburg University also finds themselves in the national poll ranked fourth along side names like Geneseo and Utica College. The Auggies penalty kill will be the best unit Oswego State will face this season as the group currently has only given up two goals and holds a 94.9% efficiency percentage. 

As Oswego State prepares for the match up, the message is the same in the locker room. Many players have stated this season that the weekly approach is focusing on playing their game, the way the Lakers have always played hockey. The gritty, hard-hitting hockey will be a focus point ahead of this weekend’s matchups. 

“We will watch some video and see what they do,” Broughman said. “A lot of it this year has been focusing on ourselves. No matter what opponent you throw in front of us, if we play how we are capable of playing and to the standard we set, it does not matter who is on the other side of the ice.”

The SUNY Canton Kangaroos and the Skidmore College Thoroughbred will join the two other teams for the Clarion/Best Western Oswego Hockey Classic this coming weekend. The Kangaroos will face off against the Thoroughbred at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 1st prior to the Oswego State versus Augsburg University match up at 7:00 p.m. in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. The final two games will be played on Sunday as Oswego State faces the winner of SUNY Canton and Skidmore College at 7:00 p.m. on SUNY Oswego’s campus. All the games can be found on WTOP 10 and on the radio waves of WNYO 88.9 FM.

Image via Oswego State Athletics